The present disclosure relates generally to image data buffering, and more particularly, to enhanced buffer outputs when data underrun conditions are present in electronic displays.
This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art that may be related to various aspects of the present disclosure, which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
Electronic displays (e.g., liquid crystal displays (LCDs)) are commonly used as screens or displays for a wide variety of electronic devices, including such consumer electronics as televisions, computers, and handheld devices (e.g., cellular telephones, audio and video players, gaming systems, and so forth). Such display devices typically provide a flat display in a relatively thin and low weight package that is suitable for use in a variety of electronic goods. In addition, such display devices typically use less power than comparable display technologies, making them suitable for use in battery powered devices or in other contexts where it is desirable to minimize power usage.
Display devices typically include thousands (e.g., or millions) of picture elements, e.g., pixels, arranged in rows and columns. For any given pixel of a display device, the amount of light that viewable on the display depends on the voltage applied to the pixel. To display a given color at a given pixel, the display device may receive a set of bits of image data, whereby portions of the set of bits of data correspond to each of the pixel colors. The image data may be derived via a processing pipeline containing multiple processing blocks that enhance the image data. For example, a first block (e.g., a a dithering block that applies varying shades of color in a group of adjacent pixels to “trick” the human eye into perceiving the desired color, despite the fact that none of the pixels may be actually displaying the desired color) may process the image data (e.g., by provide a dithering effect to the image data) and pass, via a first-in-first-out (FIFO) buffer, a processed output to a second, downstream, processing block for further processing.
However, when the second processing block requests the image data before it is available in the FIFO buffer, an underrun condition may occur. The FIFO buffer may still output image data to the second processing block, where the “un-ready” portions of the image data may be interpolated or gap-filled. For example, when operating in a color mode, the FIFO buffer may output image data corresponding with a designated underrun color. ON the other hand, when operating in a repeat mode, the FIFO buffer may output a repeat of previous image data.
Different display panel types may include different pixel configurations. Accordingly, it may be useful to provide different underrun color definition schemes based upon an identified display panel type.